Maintaining my geek cred…

As if it wasn’t clear enough by now, I am a geek, and as such I have to have things that demonstrate that geekiness to the world, for example, “figurines” of science fiction and anime characters. In this case, “River Tam” from the TV show “Firefly“, part of the “Big Damn Heroes” series by Quantum Mechanix, purveyors of quality geek paraphernalia…

River Tam, as all Firefly fans (Browncoats!) know, was the little sister of Dr. Simon Tam, who rescued her from an Alliance experiment that turned her into an unstable killer, while she was just a little girl. In the Firefly movie “Serenity”, we learn that River was part of a plan to eliminate the “Reavers,” bloodthirsty, relentless savages accidentally created by Alliance meddling with the environment of the colonists on a new world.

There is a scene where the crew of Serenity is holding out against a Reaver attack, and River decides to help by leaping through an airlock door that’s closing, jumping into the middle of the Reavers while locking the door behind her. Several scenes later, the door opens while the exhausted, wounded crew waits in resignation for their end. The person who opens the door however is River, holding two bloody weapons and covered by various bits of Reaver.

The folks at Quantum Mechanix recreated the scene of River confronting the Reavers after the door closed, as part of their “Big Damn Heroes” series of figurines. (the phrase “Big Damn Heroes” is from another scene in the TV series. Google it for enlightenment!) The style of art is reminiscent of Japanese anime, but slightly more realistic than most anime. They also have a “Little Damn Heroes” collection, which is much more cartoon-like.

Awww, such a sweet little bloodthirsty killing machine!

This figure is really detailed, only about 3 inches high, and the base is either solid metal or something with a lot of metal inside, because it’s very very heavy. It’s a quality piece of work, and for any collector like me, it’s well worth the price. Especially since it’s a limited edition, and now sold out! I highly recommend you check out their online store, they carry prints, models, figurines, and other collectibles from science fiction franchises like Firefly, Star Trek, and Battlestar Galactica. I have some very nice posters from them, and should have a “Little Damn Heroes” version of Shepard Book from Firefly very soon!